CHINA-GERMANY
|
German Chancellor Angela Merkel during her 3-day trip to China -- her seventh as Chancellor -- on July 7, 2014, signed a number of trade and investment agreements, including for the establishment of two new Volkswagen factories and the sale of 123 Airbus helicopters. Ms. Merkel visited a Volkswagen factory in Chengdu.
Meanwhile, coinciding with her visit, the head of Germany’s domestic intelligence service, Hans-Georg Maassen, warned in a newspaper article that mid-size German companies doing business in China were often victims of industrial espionage. He said “They often don’t really know what their crown jewels are or what the other side is interested in,” Mr. Maassen said. “They are up against very powerful adversaries. The Chinese technical intelligence agency alone has over 100,000 employees.”
Merkel also touched on the importance of free speech and Human Rights, while addressing students at Tsinghua University in Beijing on July 8, around the time of the sensitive Tiananmen (TAM) anniversary.
|